


Twin Suns

by darthbrooks



Series: The Daario Trilogy [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Battle of Exegol (Star Wars), Ben Solo Lives, Canon Compliant, Carbonite Freezing (Star Wars), Cloud City (Star Wars), F/M, Fluff, Force Ghost Ahsoka Tano, Force Ghost Anakin Skywalker, Grief/Mourning, Implied Poe Dameron/Finn, Planet Exegol (Star Wars), Planet Kashyyyk (Star Wars), Planet Kuat (Star Wars), Planet Mustafar (Star Wars), Planet Naboo (Star Wars), Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Pre-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Redeemed Ben Solo, References to Mortis Arc (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Resurrection, Romance, Siblings, Smut, The World Between Worlds (Star Wars), Twins, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:28:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29647854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darthbrooks/pseuds/darthbrooks
Summary: Major Ana Daario has risen up the ranks of the First Order, becoming the most trusted commander and confidant of Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. But as the final battle of the war draws near, Ana must reconcile with her past and learn to let go of the ones she loves...(Takes place before, during, and after The Rise of Skywalker)
Relationships: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Daario Trilogy [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2178537
Kudos: 2





	1. The Mystery

Ana yanked the lever back, the _Raven_ coming out of hyperspace as Kuat came into view—a lush blue and green planet, completely encircled by a ring of steel—a shipyard that wrapped around the entire planet. Several Resurgent-class Star Destroyers were in orbit around the station, forming a blockade around the forge of the First Order’s navy.

A hologram of an officer popped up on the cockpit dashboard. “Transmit clearance codes, please.”

“Transmitting,” Ana responded, flicking a button, “This is quite the blockade. Scared your intruder will be back?”

“Major Daario,” the officer responded, “We were told to expect you. The blockade is result of a direct order from Allegiant General Pryde.”

“You’d think a blockade wouldn’t be necessary at our _own_ shipyards,” Ana grumbled ruefully.

“You’re cleared to land in docking bay 47,” the officer responded, “Welcome to Kuat, Major.”

Steam released from the hydraulics as the gangway of the _Raven_ lowered onto the slick black floor of the Kuat Drive Yards’ landing bay. Two lines of stormtroopers stood opposite each other, saluting and forming an aisle as Ana descended, adjusting the cuff on her teal uniform.

At the end of the aisle, a First Order commander stood next to a Neimoidian figure dressed in an elaborate robes.

“Ah, Ana Daario,” the Neimoidian spoke first, “We have been eager for your arrival. I am Executive Tyrntir, I oversee operations here at the Drive Yards.”

“You in charge of security, Executive?” Ana asked brashly, “Or would that be _you_?” She panned her eyes to the lesser officer, a red-headed woman about her age, who was trembling in her boots.

“That would be me,” the officer said, “Commander Syd, at your service.”

“Show me where it happened,” Ana ordered sharply.

“Right this way, Major.”

They proceeded into an enormous cargo hold that looked like it had been ravaged by a loose rancor. Blaster marks marked the walls, shipment crates were overturned and scattered about, and most notably, the shield generator that created a permeable barrier from the bay out into space was sparking—an ion blast having disabled the security measures.

Ana surveyed the area, her eyes narrowing at a gash on the wall—the durasteel melted, resembling a wound. It was smooth and black, having been melted at an extremely high temperature. She frowned as she laid her hand against the cauterized steel.

“Do you have security footage of the incident?” she asked.

Commander Syd’s face was ghost white. “Yes, but it’s... compromised.”

Ana crossed her arms as she looked down at the monitor, watching the scene from high above the cargo bay, the empty space occupied by an enormous bulk freighter, Baleen-class. The stormtroopers guarding the back doors raised their weapons as a hooded figure came into view on the right side of the screen—as if they had walked right in from space. The color was dull on the footage, and Ana tensed as she watched a blue blade ignite from the figure’s hand, deflecting trooper’s blaster bolts.

The last moment of the footage saw the figure extend their left hand, picking up a cargo crate telepathically, flinging it upwards at the security camera, shattering the lens and rendering the rest of the footage unwatchable.

Syd nervously eyes Ana as she glowered down at the footage.

“The freighter was stolen, and its tracker disabled,” Syd explained, “We’ve never seen an individual like this before. We couldn’t have been expected to defend against—”

“Oh, you couldn’t?” Ana asked, turning to her, feigning sympathy, “Surely, I can understand that. You were only in charge of security at one of our most crucial installations. I suppose I can’t _blame_ you for letting someone just _waltz_ in from space and steal a shipment of—what was it?”

“R-refined coaxium, Major.”

“ _Refined coaxium,”_ Ana cooed in repetition, “Oh no, surely I can’t blame you for losing _that._ ”

“Major,” Syd spoke up, “They had a... a laser-sword. They threw an entire shipping crate, with—with—”

“With the _Force,_ Commander,” Ana politely finished, “Have you ever heard of such a thing? People who wield such power?”

Syd said nothing, simply shook her head meekly.

“Well they’re out there, I assure you,” Ana spoke calmly, curling her hand into a claw shape, causing Syd to nervously clutch at her collar as her airway was closed off, “And I suggest you consider the possibility of _any_ threat before you make _excuses,_ Commander.”

Syd could barely speak. “I—I’m sorry, Major,” she rasped.

“Yeah?” Ana raised her brow, “Well, you should be.”

She raised her hand, lifting Commander Syd into the air by her throat, holding her there as she kicked and struggled until finally, she stopped and let her fall lifelessly to the floor.

Ana looked to the other side of the room at Executive Tyrntir’s shocked expression.

“Sorry, Executive,” Ana said, “We’ll be sure to find you more _competent_ help next time.”

Supreme Leader Kylo Ren was flanked by General Hux and Allegiant General Pryde as Ana strode down the central walkway of the _Steadfast,_ eager to make her report.

“Major Daario,” Kylo addressed her by rank, only in front of other members of command. Not that it was a secret. “What did you find on Kuat?”

“The coaxium shipment was stolen by a lone thief,” Ana reported, “There were only a few seconds of security footage that were salvageable. But whoever it was... they had a lightsaber.” She danced cautiously around saying what she knew to be true. She dared not speak her name in his presence.

Kylo’s eyes burned with rage. “Where is the shipment?”

“I don’t know,” Ana said, “I checked the manifest on the freighter—it wasn’t one of ours.”

Pryde narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean it wasn’t one of ours?”

“None of our bases were expecting that shipment,” she said, “I don’t know where it was meant for in the first place.”

“Kuat can’t be supplying the Resistance,” Hux proposed, “If that were the case, why would she steal it?”

Pryde eyed Kylo, hoping to continue to discuss the matter without provoking the Supreme Leader’s temper. “I presume we’re referring to the scavenger from Jakku,” he said, “Our late Supreme Leader’s murderer.”

Kylo looked at him, an intense purpose overtaking his entire demeanor. “I want you to send Security Bureau to Kuat, see what you can find about this shipment.”

Pryde nodded. “At once, Supreme Leader.”

“What about me?” Ana piped up. She had the freedom to speak more freely in the Supreme Leader’s presence, much to the chagrin of the other officers. “Want me to go after Rey?”

Kylo inhaled sharply through his nose at the sound of her name. “I want you to stand down and await my orders,” he said sternly, pushing past her and exiting the bridge, “I won’t let her escape this time.”

Ana stepped out of the large, ornate doors, onto the stony balcony—overlooking the lake and the green mountains beyond, the sun just beginning to set and cast its golden hue over the landscape. Urns overflowing with flowers stood along the stone railing.

He stood, dressed in white, his back to her, looking out over the lake. Ana proceeded towards him, and as she approached, he turned to her and smiled.

“Ana.”

She smiled back, a feeling of overwhelming warmth overtaking her, almost enough to bring a tear to her eye. This was someone she had waited years—seven now, to be exact—to see.

“Ben.”

She threw herself into his arms, feeling him enwrap her, his muscular arms squeezing her tight and making her feel safe against his broad chest.

“I found it, Ana,” he told her, “I found the light.”

“I know, Ben,” she said, muffled into his chest, “I’m so proud of you.”

He kissed her head gently, before setting her face to look into his eyes. His smile faded slightly, still smiling, but with a sad expression.

“What’s wrong?” Ana asked, concern filling her voice.

He pursed his lips. “I can’t stay.”

Her brow knitted. “What do you mean? Where are you going?”

“You helped me find peace,” he said, “There’s no peace for me here. So I have to go.”

“Ben...” Ana started, “Don’t...”

He stood up on the railing above the lake, looking down at her as she clutched at his leg, begging him to stay.

“Goodbye, Ana.” He spread his arms out, falling backwards—

She woke up in a cold sweat, feeling the sheets sticking damply to her chest as it heaved with her panting breathing. These visions had increasingly plagued her of late, ever since the destruction of Starkiller, when Kylo had killed his father. When he had first faced Rey.

Propped up, her eyes panned across the chamber to the large window, looking out onto space. Kylo was standing, shirtless, gazing out at the cold stars. She rubbed her eyes.

“Kylo.”

He turned, looking at her, a troubled expression on his face which had been written across it for months now.

She frowned with concern at him. “How long have you been up?”

“Hours,” he responded.

“You need sleep,” she told him, “You’re running yourself ragged.”

“I have a lot on my mind.”

“Come to bed, Kylo,” she asked, “Please.”

He sighed languidly, crawling into bed next to her and wrapping her in his arms, squeezing tightly as she hummed into his embrace. Something welled up within him, and he turned her over onto her back, pinning her wrists above her head as he dove in to kiss her hungrily, breathing hard as he ravaged her lips with his.

She moaned, bucking her hips under his weight as he kissed down her jawline and to her neck, eliciting a yelp as he sank his teeth into her flesh where her neck sloped into her shoulder. She dug nails into his back as she bit her own lip, the pain drawing her legs up, feeling Kylo’s stiff cock through the fabric of his trousers.

He worked back up, kissing her hungrily before grabbing her roughly in his large hands and flipping her over onto her hands and knees. She instinctively arched her back—she was well-trained at this point to his wordless commands. Just as he was to hers.

He pulled her underwear down, rolling up over the back of her thighs as he got to his knees, spitting on his hand and stroking his cock before shoving its full length into her from behind. She clutched bundles of the bedsheets in her hands and sank her teeth into her pillow, crying out in pain and pleasure. He was thrusting like a piston, hard and fast, his chest glistening with sweat.

This was how their love-making had become—whenever he pleased, he would just _seize_ her, fully and completely taking control, and let out all of his passion and rage and frustration through his fucking. And Ana knew this was what he needed, so she was happy to provide it for him. Plus there was the fact that, frankly, she _enjoyed_ it.

Her cheek was smushed into the pillow as she looked at the wall, moaning as Kylo’s cock slammed against her cervix, fucking her hard. She reached back, grasping blindly for his hand before he clutched her fingers in his palm, pinning her arm back.

“You like it when I fuck you like this?” he asked urgently, “Huh?”

“Fuck, Kylo,” she gasped, “I _love_ it.”

“Yeah you do.”

He let go of her, bracing his hands against her lower back as he bore down, drilling furiously into her pussy as he moaned and her screams echoed off the metal walls of the bedchamber. He was out of breath, grunting as he pulled out of her, stroking his cock and releasing a generous amount of cum to pool on her lower back and across her ass.

He laid down beside her, breathless, Ana paralyzed for a moment, lingering in the feeling of her fresh-fucked pussy before getting up to go clean up.

The next day, she stood in front of a mirror as she fastened the teal tunic of her uniform, making sure it was on straight. She had been told to stand down, but she wanted to be ready for anything.

The door whirred open, and she looked at Kylo standing there.

“I want you to find her,” he told her, “And bring her to me. I didn’t want Hux or Pryde getting involved. I trust you to do this.”

“I was hoping you’d ask.”

“But I’m trusting you with this because I want her _alive._ ”

Ana sighed. “That’s no fun. But whatever you say.”

“Do whatever you have to do.” With that, he left the chamber. When he was gone, Ana stood for a moment, considering. After some deliberation with herself, she opened the door to the wardrobe, reaching back into the corner and drawing out a small metal box. She took a deep breath as she unlatched it, gazing upon two lightsaber hilts—her original one, from her Jedi training, and a new shoto blade she had crafted after her journey to Mortis. They had stayed tucked away, in a safe place, waiting for the right moment. She sat the box down on the bed and held them in her hands, feeling the weight of the cold metal in her hand before igniting them, the purple light flickering in her eyes.

She was ready.


	2. The Scavenger

Queen Cambré sat on her throne, fully adorned in the traditional garb and accoutrements of the ruler of Naboo. Her hair was piled on top of her head in elaborate knots, and her face was painted white, with two red circles on her cheeks and a red stripe painted down her lower lip. The expression beneath her makeup was one of blasé contempt, or a bored sort of bemusement as one of her handmaidens entered the throne chamber and bowed.

“The Resistance envoy has arrived to see you,” she told her queen.

“Thank you, Alycesaundra,” the queen responded, “You’re dismissed.”

The handmaiden skulked away as the two double doors to the sunlit chamber swung open, revealing a small party of four—a young girl, two young men, and an enormously tall Wookiee. Beside them, a BB unit rolled along the marble floor. Cambré drummed her fingers along the arm-rest of her throne as they proceeded in, the girl taking the lead of the group and kneeling.

“Queen Cambré,” she said, her accent lilted, “It is an honor to—”

“That really won’t be necessary,” the queen replied dryly, “You may rise.”

Rey blinked, standing up and straightening her clothing. “We come as messengers from General Organa,” she said, “Naboo is one of the last major worlds that has not fallen to the First Order. Your planet has a proud history of fighting tyranny. We’ve come to ask for your aid in the Resistance.”

Cambré cocked an eyebrow. “Is that all?”

Rey swallowed hard. “Yes, your majesty, I suppose so.”

“Your majesty,” the pilot with Rey spoke up, “The Naboo Starfighter Corps are legendary across the galaxy. It takes a whole squadron of Resistance fighters to take down the First Order’s Star Destroyers—it would only take a handful of N-1’s.”

Cambré pursed her lips into a smile. “You flatter us, Captain...”

“Dameron, your majesty,” Poe smiled toothily. Finn quietly rolled his eyes.

“Please, Queen Cambré,” Rey continued, “We’re running out of places to turn.”

Cambré looked to the two handmaidens standing in attendance by the doors. “Leave us, please.” They shuffled out, the sound of the heavy doors shutting echoing through the marble chamber.

She looked back to the Resistance fighters, pressing her fingertips together in front of her. “There is a matter of some concern here on Naboo that I must attend to before I can commit any of my forces.”

Rey nodded. “We can help you.”

“There is a plasma mine in the plains east of Theed,” the queen began, “Manned entirely by droids, no records of who operates it. I suspect that this mine is selling plasma to the First Order.”

“Why not just send in your own forces?” Finn asked.

“I cannot afford for Naboo to be embargoed by the Mining Guild,” she said, “Plasma is our primary export. Without it, the people of Naboo would suffer.”

“So you need a covert operation,” Poe mused, “You have the right team for the job.”

“I was hoping I did,” Cambré responded, “Reclaim our mine. And I’ll consider your offer.”

Their footsteps echoed off the marble as they strode down the hallway back towards the hangar where the _Falcon_ was docked.

“Was something... _off_ about her?” Finn proposed.

“How do you mean?” Poe asked.

“I don’t know. Just a feeling.”

Chewbacca interjected. “Raaaarrrgh!”

“See?” Finn said, “Chewie agrees.”

“I think she’s looking out for her own,” Rey said, “Just like we are. If we help her, I’m sure she’ll come around.”

“Well let’s get to that mine,” Poe said, “The First Order is on the move, we don’t have forever.”

The doors to the hangar whirred open and the group came face to face with a figure in a First Order officer’s uniform standing directly between them and the _Millennium Falcon._

“Rrrrrrrgggghhhh!” Chewbacca raised his bow-caster, aiming at her. Ana merely sniggered.

“If you’re going to shoot, you better not _miss._ ”

“How did you find us?” Rey asked, her teeth gritted.

Ana looked to the _Falcon_ behind her, and then back at Rey with an amused look on her face. “Your bucket of bolts is hard to miss.”

“Why don’t you tell us what you want,” Finn told her, “Before we take you back to the Resistance in cuffs.”

Ana cut her eyes at him. “Good to see you again,” she said, “FN-2187.”

Poe glanced at him. “Friend of yours?”

“I don’t remember this one.”

Rey surveyed her eyes around the hangar. “You’re here alone?”

“I often find reinforcements unnecessary,” Ana replied, “I’m just here for _you._ ”

Finn stepped forward. “Well you’ll have to go through _us._ ”

Ana drew her lightsabers from her belt, igniting both purple blades and holding them out. “That can be arranged.”

All of them had looks of pure shock as they stared at her lightsabers. Rey steeled her expression, holding her friends back.

“Find somewhere safe,” she told them, “I’ll take this one.”

“But Rey—”

“Go!”

Finn, Poe, and Chewbacca retreated back down the hallway with BB-8 rolling quickly by their side. As the hangar door closed behind her, Rey drew the Skywalker saber from its holster, igniting it and holding it with both hands.

Ana tilted her head to the side, cracking her neck. She swung both of her blades overhead, meeting Rey’s blade as both women gritted their teeth, pushing against one another. Rey extended a hand, sending Ana skidding back across the floor towards the _Falcon,_ before regaining her footing. As she advanced, Rey picked up a power converter from the floor with the Force, flinging it into the door switch behind her and opening a walkway into the massive plasma power plant under the city.

Rey turned her back on Ana, sprinting away, down the metal catwalk between two massive pillars filled with a white light, plasma pulsing through them. Ana was amused that Rey was running from her and gave chase, not expecting that when she almost caught up to her, Rey flipped backwards, flinging herself into the air and slashing from above at Ana, causing her to slide to the side of the catwalk, almost losing her balance on the ledge.

Rey landed back on her feet and immediately thrust a hand out, sending Ana plummeting to the next platform down, grunting as she landed on her back but ignoring the pain to quickly spring to her feet.

Rey jumped down, landing on both feet, locking her blade with both of Ana’s, allowing them to glare at each other through the illumination of lightsabers.

“Who _are_ you?” Rey demanded.

“I’ve been at this longer than _you,_ ” Ana said, once again swinging, overhead, meeting Rey’s blade above her head, “You think you’re so powerful.” She flung both blades around to the side in front of her. “How are you contacting him?”

Through the conflict, a look of confusion registered on Rey’s face. “What are you talking about?”

Ana crossed her blades, trying to get a good swipe at the Jedi, but she met it with her single blade—the purple blades crossed over the blue.

“I know you’re speaking to Kylo. Manipulating him. Driving him further into the Dark.”

Rey shook her head rapidly. “I can’t control when it happens, I—” she stopped, a newfound rage came over her and she swung wildly at Ana, who was hard to land a strike on when she was blocking with two separate sabers.

Finally, the anger boiled over and she thrust a hand out, sending Ana flying down the catwalk, tumbling as she landed and struggling to get to her feet as her vision swam. Her lightsabers had fallen from her hands and were on the edge of the catwalk, and just as she reached for them, Rey swung her free hand and sent them over, falling down into the pit of the power plant.

Ana looked as Rey stomped towards her, and she clutched her hand, lifting the now disarmed opponent by her collar, pulling her towards her as the tops of her feet traipsed along the floor. She held her partly suspended in the air, the lightsaber buzzing, ready to drive through her.

“I’ll ask it again,” she said, her voice quietly trembling, “Who _are_ you?”

Ana laughed a little to herself. “There’s a Darkness in you, too,” she said bemusedly, “I can feel your pain. Your _anger._ It gives you strength.”

Rey dropped her to her feet. “I’m not him.”

“Yeah? Then leave him alone.”

She retracted her blade. “I can’t control it. It just... began happening.”

“Well thanks to you, he’s nearly consumed by the Dark Side now,” Ana told her grimly, “Before he met you, I thought maybe I could save him. But now—”

Rey knitted her brow. “I _know_ there’s good in him,” she told her, “I’ve tried to get him to see that.”

Ana’s expression softened. “You have?”

“I can feel it,” Rey told her, giving Ana a slightly reassuring smile, “I think you’d better tell me who you are.”

Ana sighed. “My name is Ana Daario. I was a student of Luke Skywalker, with Ben. Since the temple was destroyed and Ben turned, I’ve served in the First Order by his side.”

“But you don’t believe in their cause,” Rey told her.

“I thought—I thought Starkiller would change him. I thought killing Snoke would change him. I thought—once he has the power and doesn’t answer to anyone, he’ll realize who he is.”

“But he hasn’t.”

“No,” Ana said sadly, “He’s become a monster. I almost don’t recognize him.”

“Wait,” Rey thought a moment, “If you survived the destruction of Luke’s temple then... are there others?”

Ana bit her lip, training her eyes on the floor. “No. I’m the last one.”

“You can’t stay in the First Order,” Rey told her, “The Dark Side will consume you too.”

“I know, but I—”

“You love him,” Rey looked at her with some semblance of pity.

Ana nodded. “I do.”

“Why don’t you come back to the ship?” Rey asked her, “We should talk.”

There was a look of trepidation across the faces of Poe, Finn, and Chewbacca when they boarded the _Millennium Falcon_ to see Ana sitting at the holochess table, across from Rey.

“So... she’s our prisoner, right?” Poe commented.

“No,” Rey said, “We talked it out.”

“Aw, that’s sweet,” Poe quipped, “Maybe next we should tell her where our secret base is and give her a gift basket to take to Kylo Ren!”

“You can chill out, flyboy,” Ana retorted.

“You look familiar, actually,” Poe said, “Have we met?”

Ana studied him. “Yeah, actually. On Hoth.”

“You’re that Jedi we rescued from the Knights of Ren,” Poe remembered, “I figured you were dead.”

“That’s funny,” Ana said, “I would’ve figured the same about you.”

“I don’t like this,” Finn said, “She’s probably transmitting a tracking beacon to the whole First Order right now, and their fleet is gonna descend on us like—”

“She’s going to help us,” Rey cut him off.

Finn visibly did a double take. “She’s gonna _what_?”

“You’re headed for that plasma mine,” Ana said, “If they’re selling to the First Order, you’re not going to find anything. Not unless I come along. I can use my clearance to access their logs.”

“And why would you help us?” Finn asked.

“She’s a Jedi,” Rey told them, “She was one of Luke’s students.”

“Okay, you know who else was? _Kylo Ren._ ”

“I’m not like him,” Ana told them, “I was forced into the First Order by Snoke, and I’ve stuck around for Kylo Ren. He’s not who you think he is. There’s good in him.”

Poe sighed with exasperation. He had heard this sort of talk from Rey before, but had always dismissed it.

“I want to earn your trust,” Ana told them, “I know the Resistance could use a double agent on the inside.”

They were silent for a moment, mulling it over, before Finn finally sighed. “If Rey is okay with it, then I’m okay with it.”

Rey smiled and nodded at him reassuringly.

“I’ve gotta say, I’m markedly _less_ okay with it,” Poe lamented, “But Rey’s the boss. Let’s go.” He proceeded into the cockpit with Chewbacca, firing up the _Falcon_ ’s engines.

Rey and Ana stood, Rey held out Ana’s lightsaber hilts. “Here. You’ll need these.”

“Thanks,” Ana replied, “Listen, I know you’re taking a big chance here—”

“I am. And if you make me regret it,” Rey grew quiet, leaning into Ana’s ear, “I won’t hesitate to kill you.”


	3. The Reunion

Ana looked out across a huge expanse of metal, sitting amongst a stormy sea, the waves crashing against the side of it and washing up over her feet. She shielded her eyes from the wind and the salty ocean spray as she looked ahead, seeing a familiar figure standing at the precipice, gazing out at the ocean, his cape whipping in the wind.

“Kylo?” Ana called out, “Kylo!”

But over the sounds of the thrashing sea, he could not hear her, forcing her to press on ahead. She continued to call his name as she proceeded, but even as she approached he wouldn’t respond. Finally she called his true name.

“Ben!”

He peered over his shoulder, warmly smiling, before turning his gaze back out to the sea. She went to his side, clasping both of his hands and turning him towards her.

“Ben,” she said, “What are you doing here?”

“I was thinking,” he said, “About how everything I wanted—everything I turned to the Dark Side for. It was all for nothing.”

She moved a piece of wet hair out of his face. “It’s okay, Ben. You’re safe now. Let’s go. Make a new life for ourselves.”

He smiled sadly and shook his head. “Ana, I can’t.”

She knitted her brow, holding his hand tighter. “Ben, don’t do this.”

“Don’t you see, Ana?” he said, “I’ve been beaten. That’s the only way this was ever going to happen. And now—I’m at peace.”

“Ben, no.”

“I’m sorry,” Ben said. Ana gasped as she heard the buzz of a lightsaber, looking down and seeing a blue blade protruding through his stomach. “This was the only way.”

“ _NO!”_

The blade retracted back through him, and he fell lifelessly into the ocean and gave way to Rey, standing behind him, a look of fierce determination written across her face, her blue blade extended.

Ana drew her sabers from her hilt. “ _NO!”_ Just as her sabers clashed with Rey’s—

“Ana.”

Her vision came back into focus, she felt the hand on her shoulder, lightly shaking her. She was back in the cabin of the _Millenium Falcon._ Rey had a hand on her shoulder, looking at her with some degree of concern.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

Ana fought the urge to push her off of her, to fight her, to kill her right then and there. She knew in her feelings that Kylo’s redemption would coincide with his death. But now she knew that Rey would be responsible. Perhaps for both.

Her face was white as a sheet. “I’m fine.”

Rey smiled through closed lips. “Good. We’re approaching the plasma mine. Time to look alive.”

Ana proceeded into the cockpit, looking down at a massive lake situated into the top of a mountain, the green sloping down from the crystalline blue water to the plain below, where there was a massive metal door carved into it.

“The mine is inside the mountain, under the lake,” Poe said, easing the yoke on the _Falcon_ and lowering the freighter down onto the plain, “There’s gonna be some droid security in there, but nothing we can’t handle.”

“I eat droids for breakfast,” Ana quipped confidently.

The rest of the crew just sort of slowly turned their heads to look at her, an awkward silence befalling the cockpit.

“Okay. I see I haven’t been around long enough to have cocky pre-mission catchphrases.”

“Yeah, see,” Finn spoke up, “ _I’m_ sort of the catchphrase guy.”

Poe rolled his eyes. “Pfft. Yeah, _okay._ ”

“What? I am.”

“ _Okay,_ Finn.”

The _Falcon_ lowered onto the metal loading platform that sat atop the green grasses that stretched for miles from the base of the mountain.

IG-RM units surrounded the ship, brandishing laser rifles and aiming it towards the unopen boarding walkway.

“This vessel is unauthorized,” one of them spoke in a mechanical voice, “Vacate immediately or be subject to deadly force.”

The hydraulics released steam as the walkway lowered, the droids closing ranks around, surrounded.

The commander droid waved to the others as he watched two sets of boots appear descending down the gangway. “Open fire!”

Rey and Ana, side by side, lit their blue and purple blades, deflecting fire that when it flew back at the droids, ricocheted off their metal chassis. Ana narrowed her eyes—the light was reflecting off the droids outer casing. They shone like the late Captain Phasma’s armor.

“These droids are plated with chromium!” Ana called back to Finn, Poe, and Chewbacca, “Blaster fire won’t do anything to them.”

“Yeah,” Rey pulled one of the droids to her with the Force, driving her blade through its center, “But this will.”

Poe huffed. “Yeah, well I can’t do that.”

“I suggest you stay behind us then,” Ana told them.

Rey flicked a switch by the metal door leading into the mining facility, watching it whir open and reveal a long hallway, more droids stationed along it.

She looked back to Ana. “You got me?”

Ana nodded quickly. “I’ve got you.”

The two Jedi blazed their way down the hallway, each droid they came into contact with being sliced to pieces, metal arms and legs clanking along the floor. Poe, Finn, and Chewie brought up the rear, BB-8 rolling contentedly alongside them.

“The control center should be directly ahead,” Ana said, flipping her saber in her hand, driving it through the droid she had knocked to the ground and was holding under her foot.

The rest of the party ran ahead to the door, Poe fidgeting with the controls. “It’s locked. BB-8, think you can slice it?”

BB-8 squeed in affirmation, driving his scomp link into a port on the door controls.

There was one last droid guarding the hallway, Rey flung out a hand and pushed it towards Ana, who met it with the tip of her blade, melting a searing orange hole through its metallic torso before letting it clatter to the floor.

Rey nodded curtly. “Good work.”

“Not so bad yourself.”

The control center was a huge sprawling room plentiful in blinking consoles and monitors, a glass wall looking out onto the plasma core of the mine, an enormous, bright hot column of plasma emerging from deep in the planet and refracting off of a chromium disc at the top of the chamber. Ana shielded her eyes as she walked into the room, as if the midday sun was shining in.

She blinked as her eyes adjusted. Poe crossed his arms, watching her every move. “Alright, time to see if you’re _really_ gonna help us.”

“What, were you expecting me to double-cross you?” Ana asked.

Poe shrugged. “Kinda.”

Finn and Chewie posted up by the door as Ana went into the terminal, entering her First Order clearance codes. A red message flashed across the screen: ACCESS DENIED.

Ana knitted her brow. “What the hell?”

“What’s wrong?” Finn asked.

“I can’t get in—” Ana said, “This looks like a First Order terminal but... it’s not accepting my credentials.”

“Do they know you’re helping us?” Rey proposed.

“I don’t see how they would know that.”

“You sure you’re not taking us for a ride?” Poe asked.

Ana exasperatedly tried again, same thing. “No, I don’t know what’s going on,” she said, “I mean—maybe this place isn’t supplying the First Order.”

“Cambré was so sure,” Rey said, her confusion mounting.

“What are you not telling us?” Finn asked demandingly.

“Nothing, I swear!”

“Uh, guys—” Poe was looking at a row of security monitors, the one outside showing a First Order troop transport landing on the plain outside.

Chewbacca took one look and turned his bowcaster on Ana. “Raaaarrrrgggh!”

“Oh that’s funny,” Finn said, “We bring a First Order officer on a mission and _guess_ who shows up?”

They were all looking to her, eyes like daggers. Rey pursed her lips in disappointment.

Ana’s eyes went wide. “I didn’t have anything to do with that!”

Suddenly, the door to the control center closed. Poe messed with the door controls.

“It’s jammed—they’re locking us in.”

The plasma core began to grow unstable, the beam becoming brighter as it flickered with jolts of lightning coursing up it, the whole place rumbling.

“That can’t be good,” Finn said.

“It’s not,” Poe agreed, “Somehow someone is overloading the plasma core. That thing is gonna blow and take us with it.”

“Can’t BB-8 bypass the door control?” Rey asked.

BB-8 was already making himself busy with the access port, whirring in disappointment.

Poe clicked his tongue. “It’s a hard lock.”

Finn pointed his blaster at Ana. “How do we get out of this? Huh?!”

Ana threw her hands up. “I don’t know! Why would I trap myself in an exploding plasma core?”

Finn cut his eyes, thinking for a second. “Touché.”

Poe and Rey watched with trepidation at the security monitors, watching stormtroopers file in to the hallway leading to the control center, guarding the door.

“Looks like they really got us cornered.”

“We can handle a few stormtroopers,” Rey said, “I’m going to try cutting through the door.”

She proceeded to the sealed blast door, ignited her saber and driving it through, but she struggled to pull it through.

“The door’s too thick,” she said, “I’m not going to be able to get through.”

“Raaaaaaggghhhh!” Chewbacca pounded on the door with his brute Wookiee strength.

“This was all a trap,” Finn said, “Don’t you guys see? Cambré set us up!”

“There’s got to be a way out of this,” Rey said, getting flustered, “Maybe if we—”

Poe waved them over. “Hold on. There’s another ship landing outside.”

They gazed at the monitor. A Firespray-class interceptor was sweeping over the plain, boldly landing right between the _Falcon_ and the troop transport. The two stormtroopers standing guard outside had their attention drawn, aiming their blasters at the new ship.

“That’s not one of ours,” Poe said.

“You ever seen a ship like that?” Rey asked, looking to Ana.

Ana shook her head. “No, I haven’t.”

The ship landed on its rear, a ramp lowering and a figure with a grey hood and mask obscuring their face descended. The stormtroopers opened fire, but the figure merely extended their left hand, turning it over and forming a fist, sending the two stormtroopers flying into one another, falling to the ground on impact.

Rey leaned into the monitor. “Did they just—”

Finn was wide eyed. “Yeah.”

The figure proceeded, showing up on the next security monitor as they entered the hallway. There were about a dozen troopers whose attention turned to the entrance and raised their blasters. At that moment, the figure pulled something from his hip and flicked it out to the side—a teal blade igniting.

“What, _another_ Jedi?” Poe asked, “Why are there so many of you all of a sudden?”

Rey looked to Ana again. “Do you know who that is?” 

Ana’s heart was racing. “I—I don’t think so.”

The stormtroopers opened fire, and the figure deftly swung their blade, forming a shield of light, blaster fire deflecting off and back at the stormtroopers. One of them, in a frenzy, threw a thermal detonator at the intruding Jedi, but he extended a hand, catching it in midair and throwing it back, the blast sending two troopers slamming against the wall.

The trooper’s squad leader extended a shock baton from their armor, rushing in at the Jedi and swinging the baton overhead. The Jedi blocked above his head, swinging his sword arm down and around to throw the trooper off balance, staggering him and giving an opportunity for the teal blade to cut clean through him.

“I like this guy,” Poe said, impressed.

Rey continued to side-eye Ana, whose face had gone white, as if she was in shock. It looked as if she was hardly breathing.

There were two stormtroopers left in the hallway, the Jedi clutched a hand, slamming one of them into the ceiling before letting him drop back down. The last man standing was cornered, holding his blaster with shaking hands. The Jedi stopped in place, drumming his fingers along his lightsaber as he watched the trooper tremble with fear, before he threw his blade outward, watching it cut through the air as it sliced through the trooper and returned to his hand.

The Resistance fighters watched as the Jedi disappeared from view. They looked to the door, but nothing happened.

Finn squinted at the monitors. “Where’d he go?”

“Rrrrrrggghh!” Chewbacca drew their attention to the plasma core, where the Jedi was standing on a platform, his grey tunic fluttering back in the waves of energy flowing from the overcharged plasma beam. It was growing more and more unstable, flashing and crackling with white hot lightning.

The figure simply gazed down before jumping from the platform, ascending across the chamber and landing flush on the metal wall, driving his blade into the metal to anchor himself there. He pulled another weapon from his hip, igniting the shorter teal blade and driving it into the wall as well, using them both to climb up towards the top.

“What’s he doing?” Finn asked.

“He’s gonna save our asses,” Poe replied, “He’s gonna try and neutralize the plasma core.”

“How would he do that? He’ll die in there!”

The Jedi continued his climb, using the lightsabers as stakes before finally reaching towards the ceiling. With one blade still driven into the wall, he extended his left hand, the muscles in his arm straining hard as he directed his energy off the disc at the top of the plasma beam, slowly budging it before—

_WHOOSH._ The disc displaced itself, and a torrent of water came rushing in, dousing the plasma and filling the chamber with steam as it began to flood, the mountain lake above the mine now collapsing into the chamber.

The figure leapt from the wall and into the waterfall, diving down and disappearing out of sight.

Their eyes followed him down, watching with bewilderment as he disappeared into the floodwaters.

“Did he just—”

Ana kept her eyes trained on the rising waters in the chamber on the other side of the glass. There was no sign of the Jedi.

But behind them, a white ring expanded in mid-air—a portal opened, the hum of cosmic energy echoing off the walls.

The sound caused them to turn, watching as the figure stepped through the portal, soaking wet, a BD unit running through the portal behind him and scurrying its way up onto his shoulder.

Ana was speechless, her heart caught pounding in her throat. It _couldn’t_ be—

“Who are you?” Rey asked, stepping forward.

The Jedi took his hood off, and lowered the mask that was obscuring all but his eyes. Ana’s breathing resumed, only slightly, at the sight of her twin brother.

“My name is Den Daario,” he said, his eyes darted to Ana, “I see you’ve already met my sister.”

Rey looked at Ana. “I thought you said you were the last one.”

“I thought I was,” Ana managed.

Den noted his sister’s shocked expression. “Don’t worry. I’m not here for you. I’m here about this,” he said, “DK, show them.”

DK cooed in affirmation, projecting a holographic image of a Star Destroyer from his head—larger than the Imperial-class models, with an axial super-laser affixed to the bottom.

Poe shook his head in confusion. “Sorry, what are we looking at?”

“I found these schematics in a secret manufacturing facility,” Den told them, “Not unlike this one. Someone is building a fleet of planet-killing Star Destroyers. And it’s not the First Order.”

“Then who is it?” Finn asked.

“There’s something out there,” Den said with trepidation, “Something bigger than any of us can _possibly_ imagine.”

Finn looked to Rey. “You believe this?” he asked, “If this is true, we should get those schematics to Rose—”

Ana shook herself out of her dream-like trance of shock. “Den—where have you _been_?”


	4. The Twin

Birds were chattering and the sun was streaming down through the jungle canopy above him as Den’s vision came back into focus. He drew his left hand over his eyes, blinking hard as they adjusted to the light. His back was aching, as if he had landed hard on it. Exerting some effort, he grunted as he brought himself upright, somehow only having one hand to support his way on the way up. A sharp pain stung his right shoulder, and suddenly, his stomach lurched.

Tremulously, he drew his left hand over to his right shoulder, horror washing over him as he found nothing but a stump of charred, cauterized flesh where once his arm used to be.

Remembering everything, his scream echoed off the tall trees.

He wandered through the steaming jungle for hours, walking lop-sided, stopping to use his remaining hand to scoop water out of tall pitcher plants. But still, he was dehydrated. He was weak. The wound, though not losing any blood, needed bacta treatment to treat an infection that was already spreading—redness beginning to spread out from it, streaking across Den’s chest. To top it all off, he was woozy, delirious, and barely holding on to consciousness.

It was dusk, the last bits of red sunlight shining off the towering trees. Something scuttled around in the forest canopy above, and the hairs stood up on the back of Den’s neck. His instinct told him to reach for his lightsaber—but it, along with his sword-arm, was gone.

The noise faded, Den dismissing it as just a non-hostile life form passing through the trees. But he relaxed to soon—a shrieking hissing sound descending upon him as a wyyyschokk—an enormous spider-like creature—leapt from the trees and landed on top of him, pinning him on his back.

Den struggled to free himself as he looked into its clacking mandibles and many beady black eyes. He struggled to free his arm, which was pinned under one of the wyyyschokk’s legs, thinking perhaps he could use the Force to push the creature off of him. But it was no use. He was drained, and the enormous arachnid had him bested. All he could do was shut his eyes tight as he braced to be snatched between the creature’s sharp pincers.

Suddenly, a metal bolt, glowing with plasma energy, zipped its way through the air and into the wyyyschokk’s torso, causing it to leap off of Den and hiss in the direction of the projectile.

Den craned his neck to see a massively tall Wookiee warrior, his fur black as night, holding a bowcaster and firing once again, hitting the creature between its many eyes and causing it to keel over on its side, dead.

“Waaaarrrggh!” the Wookiee garbled in Den’s direction, as he struggled to his feet.

“Thank you—” Den managed through belabored panting, his eyes drawn to the Wookiee’s shoulder as something scurried up onto it. He squinted. “Wait— _DK_?”

“Boo-woo!” the droid warbled happily at the sight of his old owner.

“DK? It’s so good to see you... I—” But Den was exhausted, and his body no longer felt the need to run on adrenaline. His eyes fluttered shut and he swooned to the side, landing on his right side.

“Bee-wo, boo-boop?” DK leapt down, his small boxy head cocking with curiosity as he examined Den’s unconscious form.

“Rrrroooaahh,” the Wookiee shooed the droid away, lifting Den up easily and slinging him over his shoulder as he proceeded through the jungle.

As Den blinked back into consciousness, the first pink rays of morning sun were streaming through the wooden slats of the hut, shining on DK, who was at his side, his monitor trained intently on him.

“Bee-beep!” DK chirped happily as Den’s eyes fluttered open.

“Hey—good to see you too DK,” Den said. He sat up, feeling some pain in his shoulder, but remarkably less so. He brought a hand to his shoulder—his shirt had been removed and the shoulder wrapped in bandaging that extended all the way around his chest.

Through the leafy curtain of the hut, the Wookiee from the night before came in, softly encouraging Den in Shyriiwook to take it easy.

“You’re the Wookiee from last night,” Den said, “Thank you—you saved my life.”

“Awoooooorrrrgghhh.”

Den’s Shyriiwook was fuzzy at best, but he was able to translate his savior’s name. “Hamyyytten?”

“Arrgh.”

“Or Hami for short. Got it,” Den acknowledged, “I’m Den.”

“Raaagghh, ooorrgghh.”

“You’re the Chieftain?” Den asked, “You must be related to Tarrful.”

“Grrrooooggghh?”

“I was here... two years ago. I came looking for Tarrful but then—I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save him.”

“Gaaarggh, guggh,” Hami warbled sadly. Tarrful was his father, he had assumed the chieftain position after his death. But then Hami seemed to be confused. “Ggrrrrrggh, rrrrrraaagh?”

“Wait, seven years?” Den asked, “That can’t be right—are years shorter on Kashyyyk?”

Hami shook his head.

“That’s—that’s not possible,” Den was struggling to wrap his head around it, “I was definitely here. When your father was killed. But that was only two years ago, I—” Den was slowly piecing together. Ahsoka had told him how she had been pulled two years into the future when Ezra Bridger pulled her into the World Between Worlds. Whatever had transported him from Mortis could have propelled him five years into the future. “I need to get to the New Republic. The First Order has a weapon—if we warn them in time we can—”

Den was becoming frantic, but Hami placed his heavy hands on his shoulders, pleading with him to calm down, before telling him the true story. Den stared at the floor of the hut as Hami explained in Shyriiwook that the Hosnian System had been destroyed months ago, but the Resistance destroyed Starkiller Base before it could be used again. However, without the New Republic to stop them, the First Order was slowly taking over the galaxy.

Den shook his head. “I have to go, I have to—” He lost his train of thought, his head swimming, growing woozy again.

“Rrroooouuuuuggghh,” Hami protested, gently easing Den back onto the primitive bed on the hut floor, encouraging him to stay and rest. As he left the hut, he assured Den that when he was up to it, he would fight by his side.

Den spent the following few weeks regaining his strength. Once he was up to it, he would venture out of the hut and mill around the village, which was deep in the Shadowlands, the sprawling jungles in the shadow of the mighty Origin Tree. The village was suspended hundreds of feet in the air, built in and around the tall wroshyyyr trees.

At first, he felt the keen sense he was an outsider. The villagers seemed apprehensive about his presence at first, his only contact being the shaman who would come into his hut with various jungle brews to help him regain his strength. But Den was resolved to earn their trust, beginning to mill about the village and offer help in various areas. The Wookiees would often look at his bandaged armless shoulder with apprehension when he offered to operate the water pulleys form the jungle floor, or to guard the food stores from slyyyg.

But Den proved capable, and eventually, he was accepted, and even welcomed in the small settlement. Hami seemed to take note of this, watching with approval as Den assimilated himself, despite his struggle getting used to doing things with one less limb.

One day, as Den sat on the ledge of a platform, rewrapping the bandaging that swaddled across his chest. He felt something nudge him, and looked down to see DK looking up expectantly at him.

“Boo-woo woop!”

“You want me to follow you?” Den asked, “Where are we going?”

“Bee-ree!”

“Okay, fine _fine,_ I’m coming!”

Den got up and followed DK as he skittered away, towards the opposite ledge and a cable that led down to the forest floor. As DK wiggled his chassis, he squeed a command at Den.

“Since when did you get so bossy?”

DK jumped onto the top of the cable, and Den grabbed on, holding tight with his left hand as he rode DK down the cable like a zipline, the jungle whizzing past. He landed easily on the jungle floor and DK hopped down, continuing to scurry through the underbrush.

“Hey, wait up!” Den was running after him, pushing vines out of his path that the tiny droid had easily slipped under.

DK finally stopped and whirred around in a circle, beeping and booping towards a glint of durasteel buried in a small heap of leaves and mud. Den came to a stop and furrowed his brow, feeling something wash over him.

Slowly, he approached the object, kneeling down and picking it up, his palm sweaty as it felt the cool metallic surface of his old lightsaber.

He flicked the switch, and it blazed to life, the teal blade buzzing just inches from his face—the kyber crystal that he had chosen as a youngling. Or, as Master Luke had put it, the crystal that had chosen _him._

A twinge of sadness came across him as he stood up, the blade feeling awkward in his left hand. He blinked back tears and unignited it.

“Thanks, DK,” he said, not turning around, “But this isn’t me anymore. I can’t fight like this.”

DK trilled with disappointment. “Boooo...”

He lightly rocked the weight of the hilt in his hand. “If the First Order is all over the galaxy now, the best thing I can do is lay low,” he said, “Mortis gave me a chance to leave the past behind. Just like I always wanted, I guess. I finally did it. I’m not a Jedi anymore.”

“No,” a voice spoke behind him, “You are _more_ than that.”

Den’s heart stopped as he turned around, face to face with Ahsoka, her ethereal form glowing blue against the trees.

“Ahsoka—” he breathed.

“Your journey doesn’t end here, Den,” she told him, “You must finish what we started.”

“But— _how?_ ” Den asked, “As you can probably tell, I’m not really in fighting shape.”

“A true Jedi rises after a fall,” Ahsoka said.

“And I don’t even know where to start. I don’t even know where I would find Kylo Ren or my sister—”

“You don’t have to save the whole galaxy,” Ahsoka told him, “I found that it can be enough to just save whoever you can. Whenever you find someone in need, you help them. No matter what.”

“Do you see this?!” Den burst out, angrily gesturing to his raw, bandaged shoulder, “I can’t help _anyone._ ”

Ahsoka pursed her lips, looking at him with pity.

“You always showed me what to do,” Den said tearfully, “And now that you’re gone I—”

“You can begin by helping those who have helped you,” Ahsoka told him, “The Wookiees saved your life. Their planet has always been a target for invaders. The First Order will arrive on Kashyyyk soon.”

Den thought about how Hami had taken him in, how the village had nursed him to health. “I’ll help them.”

Ahsoka smiled faintly. “Don’t give up hope,” she said, “The Force is with you.”

Den stood before Hami, who sat on a broad wooden throne in the central hut of the village. He drew his lightsaber and ignited it, the greenish blade illuminating the structure and reflecting off the blacks of Hami’s eyes.

“I guess it’s time I tell you who I really am,” Den told him, “I’m one of the last surviving Jedi Knights. Your world is in danger. I want to help you, like you’ve helped me.”

Hami stood up, securing his bowcaster to his back, and bade Den to follow him.

They laid flush against the ridge, overlooking an enormous dark metal structure, a blight on all the lush green of the jungle surrounding it.

Hami passed the binocs to Den, who looked through them. It was a refinery of some sort, giant vats of tree sap being churned into chemical compounds. The jungle beyond it was charred and scorched.

Hami explained that this was an old Imperial refinery, deactivated long ago by Wookiee resistance fighters. Now, however, it was reactivated—but it wasn’t the First Order. There wasn’t a stormtrooper in sight, mostly just modified IG-RM units. A Firespray-class patrol ship whirred overhead, making surveillance runs. A banner hung from the north face of the refinery, bearing an insignia of four triangles within a circle.

“That’s the insignia of Kuat Drive Yards,” Den said, “How has the Republic not sanctioned them for unauthorized resource harvesting?”

“Roooaaagggh,” Hami explained.

“Oh yeah, that’s right,” Den noted sourly, panning his eyes over to a tree that sprawled its way up above one of the walkways encircling the facility, “There—we can scale up that way and infiltrate the refinery. You set your charges, and we get out of there before the whole place goes up in flame.”

“Grrrrggggh!”

“Thanks, I think it’s a good plan too.”

Den wasn’t much good for climbing trees with one arm, so he was piggybacking on Hami’s back as he scaled the wroshyyyr closest to the refinery, jumping down to a walkway and letting Den down. They proceeded to a door, and before Den could do anything, Hami blasted the door controls with his bowcaster, opening it up.

The dozen droids in the entrance hallway all turned around at once before one uttered a guttural command.

“Open fire!”

Hami began firing bolts from his bowcaster, blasting the droids to bits, as Den swung his lightsaber, taking the lead to act as cover for both of them. As one of the droids advanced, Den was able to easily slice through it, sending the top half sliding off of its legs and clanking to the floor.

As they entered the main chamber of the facility, full of vats of refined wroshyyyr sap, Den turned to Hami.

“Go set the charges,” Den told him, “I’ll get to the command center and see what I can find out about this operation. I’ll meet you on the landing platform south of here.”

“Raaaaggghh!”

They split up, proceeding in opposite directions, Den’s saber still buzzing by his side as he ran up the walkway towards a door. He bashed the control, whirring it open and holding his lightsaber vertically in front of him as he deflected blaster fire from the droids guarding the various consoles and databanks in the room. Before long, they were all disposed of.

Den holstered his saber, and DK beeped on his shoulder. He proceeded to a main terminal.

“Think you can slice it?” Den asked.

“Boo woo!”

DK extended his scomp link into a port on the terminal, slowly rotating it until finally the screen blinked from red to green, opening up a holographic display in front of him.

“Here we go,” Den said, using the controls to pan through the database. The wealth of information danced across his eyes. Shipment records, weapons requisitions, a list of contacts, and then—

Den felt a pit in his stomach as he looked at the holographic schematic in front of him. It looked like an Imperial Star-Destroyer, but according to the dimensions, it was much bigger. Mounted to the bottom of its hull, there was an axial superlaser.

“DK, can you download this so we can take a look later?”

“Bee beep!”

“You’re the best.”

Hami’s voice came through his commlink. 

“He’s set the charges,” Den said, “Let’s get out of here.”

Den and DK ran up through another passage, finding himself on the roof of the refinery, back in the steamy Kashyyyk sun.

He looked around for a way off the building, knowing he only had a few minutes before the place would be blown to bits. Behind him, he heard the sound of a ship engine slowing, and he shielded his eyes as he looked up—the sun glinting off the shining chromium of a Nubian royal starship as it descended down to land atop the platform.

Den recognized the design of the ship—generally only used by the Naboo Starfighter Corps, but this was more than just a starfighter. This was some sort of shuttle, and must have been extremely expensive to have a ship of that size coated in chromium alloy.

He stood, resolute as the gangway extended out of the side of the hull, and a figure strode down, dressed in an ornate black robe. She had a hood drawn over her head and removed it to reveal a young woman, not more than a few years older than Den, with intense brown eyes and bronzed skin and brown hair pulled into a series of ornate buns atop her head.

Den held out his hand as she approached. “That’s close enough.”

The woman laughed as she came to a stop. “I suppose you don’t know who I am.”

“No, am I supposed to?”

“I am Queen Cambré of the Naboo,” she said, “You are trespassing here. I oversee this facility.”

“Why is the Queen of Naboo running an illegal sap distillery on Kashyyyk?” Den asked.

“You know, I usually expect more _respect_ from the commoners of the galaxy,” Cambré scoffed.

“Fine,” Den said, “Why are you plundering Kashyyyk, _your highness_?”

“That’s better,” Cambré grinned slyly, “And the answer is—it’s none of your business.”

“I think it is,” Den said, “Because I have your schematics. You’re building planet-killing Star Destroyers.”

The grin was wiped off of her face. Her expression grew stony, filled with a quiet rage. “You don’t _know_ what you have.”

“I can tell you’re just a lackey,” Den said, “You’re working for someone. I think you’d better tell me who.”

“Now how can you tell _that_?”

“I can sense it,” Den said.

Cambré narrowed her eyes. “A student of the Force, then?” she asked, “We have that in common.” She tossed back her robe to grab a weapon from her belt, a chromium lightsaber hilt, curved to contour her hand. She ignited it, a red blade issuing forth.

Den used his left hand to pull his own blade from its hilt, igniting the green blade and holding it in front of him, still feeling awkward in his non-dominant hand.

“Who is your master, Sith?” Den asked demandingly.

Cambré just laughed lightly again. “I am no Sith,” she said, “Merely an agent of order.”

Den furrowed his brow. “Do you answer to Snoke?”

Bemusement crossed her face. “Oh, haven’t you heard? Snoke is _dead._ ”

“I—then you answer to Kylo Ren.”

“Oh no,” she said, “My master is _much_ more powerful than him.”

“Then I’ll kill you, and I’ll find them,” Den told her.

Cambré’s eyes darted to Den’s right shoulder, noting how it was missing something substantial.

“You are just _adorable,_ ” Cambré said, “From the looks of how your _last_ fight went, this should be easy.”

Den had heard enough. He rushed in, his lightsaber out to the side and swung it overhead, bashing against Cambré’s. Den’s left arm was still clumsy, so she easily parried him, staggering him and going for a forward thrust to impale him. He side-stepped it, swinging his lightsaber back and around, meeting hers at the side. Amusement danced in his opponent’s eyes, along with the searing white light of their blades clashing. She easily pushed him off, advancing with several quick blows as Den’s blocking stamina was fading.

She watched patiently as he tried to right himself, his center of gravity substantially shifted from the absence of a limb. He knew there was no way he could beat her in this state. Not the way things were going.

He channeled his training, the combat drills Ahsoka had run with him. He remembered how Ahsoka had wielded her shoto blade in her left hand.

Steeling his resolved, he flipped the hilt, the blade droning as it swirled around his hand, as he gripped it back-handed, the blade sticking out to the side.

Cambré raised her eyebrows, almost impressed. This was a rare fighting style.

She advanced again, swinging over-hand, but with more stability, Den was able to strong-arm his blade to parry her before swiping across his body and going for her unguarded side. He nearly got her, and she groaned in frustration.

She brandished her blade, the curved hilt allowing for elegant movements. It swung back down towards him, and he raised his bent arm, his clenched fist in front of his face as his knuckles whitened around his blade, his face hot as the intertwined blades began to press down on him.

From below, he heard a low boom—the charges were beginning to detonate. Cambré’s eyes widened. He knew he couldn’t best her, and that the entire platform would be engulfed in flame soon. So he closed his eyes, and took a deep breath—

A portal, encircled by bright white, opened beneath his feet and he fell into it—the portal closing in time for Cambré to look at the ground with astonishment, prodding at the ground with her foot. The booms continued, and she retreated quickly to her ship.

“Get us out of here,” she commanded the pilots in the cockpit.

The starship whirred as its engine began, lifting off as the refinery exploded beneath it, tongues of flame licking the rear thrusters as it took off.

“Fire up the transponder,” Cambré ordered, “And tell our fellow acolytes to hunt the Jedi down. My master would be _most_ interested to meet him.”

Hami watched as a portal opened ten feet above the ground, and Den fell through it, landing roughly on the ground.

“Ugh,” Den groaned, “There’s gotta be a better way to do that...”

“Rrrraaaggghhh!” Hami exclaimed, rushing to Den’s side to help him up.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Den said, using Hami’s arm for support to get to his feet, “But we’re not safe here. I’ve gotta get off-world. She’ll be back for me.”

“Aarrrroouggh?”

“I’ll explain later,” Den told him, “You know of a safe spaceport in this sector?” His eyes trailed to a nearby Firespray-class patrol ship, painted with the colors and insignia of Kuat Drive Yards. “I’m going hunting.”

Den crossed his arms, the cold metal of his mechno-arm still feeling strange against his organic flesh. The Rodian mechanics were busy at work, sparks flying as they finished the final modifications that Den had requested on his new ship. He smiled with satisfaction at the new paint job—red with white markings, accented with blue—in memory of his master.

Hami joined Den at his side, expressing admiration at Den’s new ride.

“Raaooogghh, grrrhh,” he told Den.

“No, I understand. If the First Order is going to invade Kashyyyk, you need to be with your people,” Den said, and then grabbed his arm, “Thank you for everything, Chieftain.”

“Rrroooaaghhh,” Hami responded. He was wishing Den luck, and telling him that if he ever needed his help again, to just ask.

“Thank you, Hami,” Den said, “I will.”

Den settled into the newly-christened _Togruta,_ familiarizing himself with the controls and starting up the engines.

DK skittered onto the cockpit dash. “Bee, boo-woop?”

“We’re headed to Kuat,” Den told him, “We’re gonna get to the bottom of this thing. One way or another.”


	5. The Resistance

“Shew, Daario,” Poe remarked, putting his feet up on the holo-chess table on the _Falcon,_ “That’s one hell of a story.”

“I _told_ you all Cambré was up to no good,” Finn grumbled..

“Wait,” Ana said, “So that was _you_ on Kuat?”

“Oh, sorry _Major,_ ” Den scoffed, “Didn’t mean to kill your men.”

“They weren’t _my_ men, I—” she said, “I thought it was _her._ ” She gestured towards Rey.

Rey frowned, looking at Ana and then to Den. “I don’t think we look very much alike. Do we look alike?”

“He was wearing a hood,” Ana defended.

Den cut his eyes. “I think we have different body types as well.”

Rey held back a laugh. “Just a bit.”

Ana was already flustered, and now she felt ganged up on. “I’m sorry, you can’t blame me for thinking you were dead!” she outburst at Den.

“What did you do to him again?” Finn asked.

“She cut off my arm and pushed me into an endless abyss,” Den stated casually.

“Okay well that’s _very_ out of context,” Ana protested.

“Oh right, this was _after_ she tried to help Kylo Ren seize an ancient cosmic power that would have granted him immortality,” Den said, “How’s that for context?”

Poe nervously adjusted his scarf. “Do you guys maybe need some space or—”

Den threw his hands up, shaking his head easily. “No, I’m good,” he said, “By the way, aren’t you the pilot that hit on me on Hoth?”

Poe’s eyes went wide, feeling Finn’s dagger-like gaze from the opposite side of the room. “I—”

Den grinned slyly. “Yeah, that was you,” his eyes shifted to Rey, “So how about you—what’s your story?”

Rey looked confused. “What do you mean ‘what’s my story?’”

“There’s a lightsaber on your belt,” Den said, “Who trained you?”

“Leia is my master,” Rey told him.

“Not Luke?”

Rey, Poe, and Finn all exchanged a look. “Luke is gone,” she told Den.

Den felt a pang of sadness. Luke, for all his faults, had been his first master. He had practically raised him. “What happened?”

“He saved us,” Rey told him, “He’s one with the Force now.”

Den pursed his lips. “We can’t stay here,” he said, “I’ll have DK upload the schematics into your astromech so you can get them back to your base.”

“You don’t want to come with us?” Poe asked.

“I don’t really play well with others anymore,” Den told him, “You guys keep fighting the First Order, I’ll keep chasing my leads to who’s building a fleet.”

BB-8 began to trill urgently and rock back and forth.

“He says we’re getting a transmission,” Poe said, “But he can’t tell us from who.”

BB-8 projected out a holographic icon, an indented diamond inside of a circle, spinning around in place. A guttural voice began to speak, and they all fell silent

“The galaxy has fallen into disorder. My Galactic Empire once sought to bring order and peace, but was overthrown by the treacherous Republic. Now, I—your true Emperor, Darth Sidious—shall return to reclaim my power. At last the work of generations is complete. The great error is corrected. The day of victory is at hand. The day of revenge. The day of the Sith.”

The transmission cut out. BB-8 bleeped a few more times.

“That broadcast just went out to the entire galaxy,” Poe translated for his droid.

“That didn’t sound good.”

Den’s face was white. “It’s not.”

“Darth Sidious?” Poe asked, “Is that—”

“The Emperor,” Ana answered, “That was his true name.”

Poe shook his head. “Come on, he’s been dead for over thirty years. This has got to be some kind of trick.”

Finn looked to Ana. “So? Is the First Order behind this?”

“I’m just as surprised as all of you,” Ana told him, “That’s not us.”

“You sure? Maybe it’s something only the higher-ups would know about—”

“Trust me,” Ana said dryly, “I’d know.”

“We should contact base,” Rey said, “Come on, BB-8, let’s contact Leia.”

BB-8 trilled in affirmation as he rolled behind Rey, following her to one of the more private chambers on the _Falcon._ She left only a palpable tension in the room, between the unsettling broadcast and the many unspoken words remaining between Den and Ana.

It only lasted a moment, though, as Rey returned.

“What did she say?” Finn asked.

“They’re scrambling, trying to get any information they can from our spy network,” Rey said, “In the meantime, we need to move. The First Order is launching an offensive, and Naboo is one of their targets.”

Poe glanced out the cockpit window, seeing the skyline of Theed on the horizon, a Resurgent-class Star Destroyer looming over the city.

“They’re already here,” he said darkly, “But it doesn’t look like much of an invasion. Where’s the Starfighter Corps?”

“Cambré has sold out to them,” Finn concluded, “This mission was a trap—she was trying to get rid of us. She never had any intention of joining the Resistance.”

“Cambré is playing a bigger game,” Den said, “She knew about the secret fleet. She’s answering to Palpatine.”

“If Palpatine is even alive,” Poe corrected, “It could be a trick.”

“What were Leia’s orders?” Finn asked.

“The _Steadfast_ is headed for Bespin,” Rey told them, “The entire Resistance fleet has been ordered to defend Cloud City. If we lose our supply of tibanna, our fleet is grounded.”

Ana’s head was spinning. The _Steadfast_ meant Kylo Ren would be leading the offensive. And if Palpatine was back, he would be demanding answers.

Rey looked to Ana and Den. “You should join us. Both of you. We could use you on the ground.”

Ana and Den exchanged an uneasy glance.

“You realize that she’s a _major_ in the _First Order,_ right?” Den said incredulously, “You know. The ones you’re fighting.”

“She helped us infiltrate the base,” Rey said.

“And if it hadn’t turned out to be a trap, and I hadn’t shown up, I’m sure she would have double-crossed you,” Den said, “I know better than anyone where her _true_ loyalties lie.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” Ana snapped at him, then looked back to Rey, “Kylo Ren is out of control. The First Order needs to be stopped.”

Den sensed a twinge of dishonesty in her voice.

“This is crazy,” Poe said, “Why aren’t we going after Cambré? Whatever’s going on, it sounds like she’s our best lead.”

“We can’t take on a First Order garrison by ourselves with the whole fleet fighting another battle,” Finn said.

“He’s right,” Den commented, “And plus—once she figures out that you survived her trap, and _I’m_ with you, she’ll come for us.”

“Then you’ll join us?” Rey asked.

Den sighed. “Yeah. I’m with you.”

“Excellent,” Rey smiled, “You and Ana can follow the _Falcon_ in your ship.”

Ana was taken aback. “Why can’t I ride on the _Falcon_?”

“Oh—” Rey stammered awkwardly, “I’m sorry, I just thought—”

“It’s perfectly fine,” Den said flippantly, “She can come with me.” He gave his sister a side-eye mixed with equal parts bemusement and resentment.

The _Togruta_ had its rear thrusters blazing orange as it zipped through hyperspace, closely following the _Millenium Falcon_ through hyperspace.

Ana sat in the cargo hold, her hands clasped, eyes trained on the ground. Her black and red cape sat in a heap beside her, and she had a borrowed leather Resistance flight jacket pulled over her black jumpsuit.

As the ship was set into auto-pilot, Den swung into the doorway leading to the cockpit, propping himself up on his metal arm. Ana looked up to meet his glare.

“We’ve got a few parsecs to go,” Den told her, “We’re not gonna beat the First Order there. We’re coming in hot to this fight.”

“Okay,” she decided to make him a peace offering, “You look great,” she told him.

“You look older.”

“I am older,” she said, “I like your new arm.”

“I preferred my old one,” Den said with a bitter frankness. Ana supposed she deserved that one.

“Look—you can’t stay mad at me forever,” Ana told him, “It was a long time ago.”

“Not for me it wasn’t.”

“Come on, Den. We’re brother and sister. We always said we needed to stick together.”

“Oh did we?” Den asked, “That’s funny, because I seem to remember you betraying me.”

“What, like you did on Nirauan?”

“That was different,” Den snapped, “In that moment, I had no other choice. You _had_ one. And when given equal opportunity to choose between your brother and a murdering psychopath, you chose the murdering psychopath.”

“I—”

“Don’t even start to tell me you still see good in him,” Den said, “Any claim you had to moral high ground disappeared when Starkiller killed trillions of people in the Hosnian System.”

“ _I_ didn’t fire Starkiller.”

“No, but you stood by while it happened. And you stuck around afterwards. How many more people have to die for you to give up on him?”

“Rey sees it too,” she told him, “The good in him.”

“She’s still a kid, she’s naïve,” Den dismissed her, “And she’s not _fucking_ him, so—”

“I’m not just _fucking_ him,” Ana snapped, “I _love_ him.”

“You love a perverted idea of him. And you’re happy as long as you get to keep living in your delusion. The Jedi can die out, your brother can die, _trillions_ of innocent people can die—and it’s all fine with you as long as you keep getting Kylo Ren’s dick. You know what that makes you?” Den stepped close, his eyes burning with anger, “It makes you a fucking _slut._ ”

Ana bit her tongue, trembling with rage.

“What? You gonna pull your lightsaber on me again?” Den asked, “Cut off my other arm? Go ahead. Be a good little slut for him.”

“Fuck you, Den,” Ana said.

Den emitted a rueful snigger. “Next time you wanna tell me that I can’t stay mad at you because you’re my sister, just remember this—” he leaned close to her ear, “I have no sister.”

Ana stood there, trying to quell her rage as she watched Den retreat back to the cockpit.

Den pulled the _Togruta_ out of hyperspace above the atmosphere of Bespin, the _Falcon_ pulled up beside him.

“You ready?” Poe’s voice came through the transponder.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Den said, “Let’s do this.”

Both ships whizzed towards the atmosphere, entering a bank of clouds and coming out underneath them, the fluffy white clouds pink in the sunlight as the enormous floating structure of Cloud City came into view—the First Order’s flagship making a slow advance towards the city. Fighters were swarming everywhere, red and green blaster fire darting across the city.

Den fixed two thumbs down on his blaster cannons, vaporizing two TIE-fighters right out of the sky.

“This is Black Leader, reporting in,” Poe’s voice came through on the comms.

“About time,” another Resistance pilot quipped. Den continued to maneuver the _Togruta_ deftly, taking out three more TIE’s in rapid succession. “Who-hoa, who’s this guy?”

“Friend of mine,” Poe responded.

Den’s closed-circuit transponder blipped, Rey’s voice patching through. “Den, I need one of you with me to go defend the loading docks before the First Order can destroy our shipments. The other can escort Finn and Poe to the Administrator’s Palace to bust out the Wing Guard—they’re being held hostage in there.”

“You take Ana,” Den said, “I got Finn and Poe.”

“Sounds good.”

The _Togruta_ whirred to a stop above a landing platform, turning upright onto its aft as it settled down next to the _Falcon._ Both landing docks lowered, and the Resistance fighters ran out into the heat of battle.

“You’re with me, Ana,” Rey said quickly, “Let’s go.”

“Wait, wh—” but Rey was already sprinting down one of the metal walkways, and Ana followed.

Den looked to Poe and Finn. “Alright, boys,” he said, “Stay behind me.” 

Den, Finn, and Poe forged through an open atrium, the sunset’s orange beams streaming through the white structure as they blasted stormtroopers, Den taking the lead, using his dual blades to deflect their blaster bolts.

“The Administrator’s Palace should be just ahead,” Poe said, “Once we break out local security, we’ll have the upper hand here on the ground.”

Den slashed his blades across a stormtrooper’s neck, watching the decapitated helmet roll onto the floor.

“Should be easy.”

Finn bashed a door control, whirring the white doors open onto a metal bridge stretching out under the pink sky. There was white ozone-filled smoke everywhere, and as it cleared, Den caught sight of him—all in black, strands of his black hair slick against his forehead, his red lightsaber angrily buzzing at his side.

Their eyes went wide.

Finn called out. “Den, get back, we can’t take him!”

“Den, run!” Poe ran up to Den who was standing in shock, reaching for his shoulder to pull him back, but Den thrust his hand behind him, sending Finn and Poe flying back into the building behind them, the doors closing them in.

His eyes searing with rage, he faced down his enemy.

Kylo Ren stared back at him, his resolve shaken—clearly in shock.

“My life for yours, huh?” Den said, “Guess that’s not how this goes after all.”

“You should be dead.”

Den widened his stance, holding his lightsabers in fighting position, one in front of him and another over his head. “Sorry to disappoint.”

Ana and Rey arrived at the cargo bay, opening up to the side of the enormous structure of Cloud City—the bay leading out directly to the endless clouds below.

A stormtrooper commander caught sight of them. “There, blast ‘em!”

Rey and Ana advanced with little to no impediment, their lightsabers forming a blue and purple shield wall in front of them, impervious to blaster fire. Ana thrust out a hand and pushed two of them over the ledge and plummeting into the clouds. A trooper armed with a shock baton had engaged Rey, who parried his attack and ducked under, giving her the opportunity to slash across his back and strike him down.

“Close the blast doors,” Rey told Ana, “We defend this position until the First Order retreats.”

Ana nodded, the giant doors whirring shut, blocking off package to the cargo bay from the rest of the city. She looked at Rey, her hair blowing in the cool wind of the atmosphere, surveying the area. This girl thought she was a Jedi. She thought she knew everything. Well Ana had been doing this longer than her. Rey didn’t know anything about the Force. She was just lucky. A natural, maybe—but not a master. And she wouldn’t destroy Kylo. Not if Ana had anything to say about it.

Rey finally stopped panning her eyes across the area and locked eyes with Ana, giving her a little smile—just as the shadow of a TIE-bomber appeared behind her.

“Rey, look out!”

An explosion rocked the cargo bay, sending a piece of the deck falling into the atmosphere, shipping crates plummeting with them. Ana was thrown back against the bay doors as Rey skidded to the edge, her hand just barely grasping at the surface, as she kept a tenuous grip anchoring her to avoid falling through miles and miles of clouds.

Den had both of his blades engaged with Kylo’s, the two fallen Jedi sneering with malice as they swung at each other. Kylo swung overhead, and Den crossed his blades, using the friction to push up, flipping over his head and trying to swing from behind. Kylo contorted himself to avoid Den’s blow from behind, whirling around in a frenzy and slashing upwards and across, knocking Den’s shoto blade from his hand, sending it tumbling over the side.

Den steeled his grip on his main lightsaber—the one he had built by Ben’s side as a youngling. He whirled it around in his hand, adopting Ahsoka’s back-handed stance. Kylo swung furiously again, but Den was hard to land a hit on as he blocked with raw strength, even going so far to push back and turn Kylo’s force against him, staggering him with each blow.

Kylo huffed—getting frustrated. He swung again, Den ducking under his blade and popping up on the other side, punching Kylo in the face with his dense metallic hand. As a stream of blood trickled from his nose, Kylo swayed in his stance, rushing in again, swinging overhand and having Den block him above his head. Kylo bore down, harder and harder, forcing Den, straining, onto his knees. Kylo kicked Den square in his chest, sending him skidding back, his lightsaber rolling across the bridge away from him, the blade retracted.

Kylo stood above Den with his blade at his throat, but he wasn’t going to make the killing blow. He had too many questions. But his chances of asking one were interrupted, when he heard slow clapping behind him.

“Well done, Supreme Leader,” Cambré said, slinking out of the building at one end of the walkway and slinking towards him, “Your little school friend really has been _such_ a nuisance for me.”

Kylo turned his head around, still holding his blade at Den’s neck. “Who are you?”

“I am Queen Cambré of the Naboo,” she said calmly, “I think we can help each other.”

“What are you doing... _here_?”

“You have something I want,” Cambré said, eyeing Den hungrily, “And in exchange, I have something _you_ want.”

“What?”

“I can tell you how to find Palpatine,” she said.

Kylo glowered at her. “How do _you_ know how to find him?”

“Don’t worry about me,” she said, “I’m on _your_ side, Supreme Leader. After all—I did just hand my planet over to your forces.”

“What do you want in return?”

Cambré pointed at Den, still on his back and breathing heavy, glaring angrily at her. “ _Him._ He knows too many secrets. He has to come with me.”

“Kylo, this is a trap,” Den urged, raising a hand up tentatively, “She works for Palpatine. I’ve been tracking her.”

“Shut up!” Kylo snapped at him. This was all too overwhelming. He felt that he was losing control of the situation—first the Emperor, then Den, now this—“Is that true?” he asked Cambré.

“Like I said,” she responded, “I’m on _your_ side. I just happen to know things.”

“Why shouldn’t I just kill you?”

“Oh sure, then go chasing one of your many _other_ leads to Palpatine,” Cambré mocked, “Come now, don’t be unreasonable.”

Kylo thought for a moment, his eyes darting. “Fine.” He lifted Den into the air, constricting his airway, and spoke into his commlink. “I need a prisoner escort. Now.”

The smoke was clearing, and Ana looked to where she could just barely see Rey’s white knuckles clinging onto the ledge for dear life. She rose to her feet, taking a step.

“Ana!” Rey called, “Ana, help me up!”

Ana took another slow step. It would be so easy. One flick of her lightsaber and Rey would be gone. Plummeting into the depths of the planet. No more contacting Kylo. No more sowing doubts. The Resistance would lose its hope, and the First Order would reign.

“Ana, I can’t hold on much longer!”

No more war. Only order. The whole galaxy under the same banner. And Kylo—

“Ana!”

Kylo would be consumed by his darkness. And Ana had proven powerless to fight it. She had kept it at bay—kept that one remaining flame of Light alive in him in the hopes that someday it might unveil itself, but she had never been able to remove the shroud of Darkness surrounding him. And she had to face the fact that—she never would.

And as much as she just wanted to keep loving him and loving him until he burned the entire galaxy, turned each resistant planet into a burning star for her—she knew that wasn’t the true him. She knew Ben Solo was scratching at the crack in the door, begging to get out. And she knew he never would be released, until he faced this Jedi—this Jedi that for some reason, was intertwined with his fate.

She took a deep breath. It was out of her control. The journey towards redemption would be one that Kylo had to take _alone._

She knelt down, giving Rey her hand, grunting as she pulled her onto the platform and they both sat at the edge, breathing heavily. A Hammerhead corvette came hovering up in front, the landing bay open.

“Rey, we’re going back to base, let’s go!” a Resistance soldier cried out to her.

Rey looked to Ana. “You were a big help,” she said, “Thank you, Ana Daario.”

“Until we meet again.”

Rey smiled. “Until then.” She took a running start, jumping over the ledge and launching herself onto the boarding gate of the corvette, taking one last look back at Ana as it zipped away.

Ana was running through the corridors of the underbelly of Cloud City, dim blue and orange light washing over her as mist rose through cracks in the metal flooring. She stopped in her tracks as she heard the mumble of voices in the distance, echoing off the cavernous walls. Her ears perked up. She recognized that voice.

Skulking along, she came to a catwalk above some sort of industrial chamber, where two stormtroopers escorted Den in cuffs, followed by Kylo Ren and someone else she didn’t recognize.

“This facility is crude,” Cambré commented, “But it should suffice. Place him on the platform.”

The troopers marched Den onto a circular platform in the middle of the grated floor, a burning orange light coming from underneath. Metal brackets surrounded Den, and he was powerless to do anything but shoot one last hateful glare at Kylo Ren as he lowered into the floor, a spray of mist shooting up violently from underneath him as he angled his head up and disappeared into it.

“Now tell me where Palpatine is,” Kylo said to Cambré.

“I cannot tell you exactly where to find him,” Cambré responded, “But your journey begins on Mustafar, in the Corvax Fen. There you will find a Sith wayfinder that belonged to your grandfather, Darth Vader. It will lead you to the secret world where Palpatine is hidden.”

“If this is a trick—”

“I only want to help you,” she said, “You fulfilled your end of the bargain, I fulfilled mine.”

“What will you do with him?”

“Keep him as a trophy, for all you know,” Cambré said snarkily, “He’s supposed to be _dead_ anyway, isn’t that right?”

Kylo was silent, merely turning and storming out of the chamber with his troopers close behind him.

Cambré waited until he was gone, and pulled a lever, a rectangular encasement emerging from the floor and falling with a clang, revealing Den’s pained expression, encased in the carbonite. She spoke into a commlink.

“It is time,” she said into it, “Reveal yourselves.”

From the shadows, emerging from hidden panels in the walls came another platoon of troopers—but their armor wasn’t First Order. The design was different, and instead of white, the chassis were blood red.

“Take him to Exegol, and store him on the _Ulitmatum_ for until our plan is set in motion,” Cambré said, “Our master will be _most_ interested to meet him.”

“Yes, your highness,” one answered, pulling Den’s hovering carbonite encasement behind him.

“Send a transmission to the Final Order,” she said, “We’re going _home._ ”


	6. The Chosen

Ana steadied her grip on the yoke of the _Togruta_ as it glided over the molten, steaming surface of Mustafar towards a spot in the distance where the volcanic ashes had settled and something vaguely resembling a skeletal forest had grown. She had managed to slip past the _Steadfast_ in the atmosphere.

“DK, you got a beacon on Kylo’s transport?” she asked the droid, who was tentatively watching her from his perch on the dashboard.

“Bee-woo-boop,” the droid protested.

“Don’t worry, DK, I’m not going to force you to serve the First Order,” she told the droid, “Quite the opposite in fact.”

“Bee-dee!”

The _Togruta_ laid back horizontally before landing on the gray, ashen ground, clouds of volcanic dust flying up around its thrusters. When the ship stopped, Ana held Den’s lightsaber hilt in her hand, thumbing at it, closing her eyes and sighing. She left it in the cockpit’s storage compartment for safe-keeping.

When she stepped onto the planet’s surface, she frowned, looking around at the carnage of Kylo’s arrival on-world. Figures in masks and robes had been slaughtered, many of them rent through with a lightsaber, felled stormtroopers also littering the ashen woods.

Ana trudged forward, through the trees, until she caught sight of him—his tall figure draped in black, gazing at an ancient device in his hand, pyramidal and glowing a darkened green.

“Kylo.”

He turned, surprised, stowing the device into his cloak. “Ana,” he said, “What are you doing here?”

Ana’s voice nearly caught in her throat. This was going to be harder than she could have possibly imagined. “We need to talk.”

“Where is _she_?” Kylo demanded, “You were supposed to return with her.”

Ana shook her head slowly. “I decided not to do that.”

“ _Excuse_ me?”

“Don’t you see?” Ana asked, “Everything is set into motion. All of this—Rey, Palpatine—you’ll face them both soon enough.”

Kylo studied her eyes, searching her feelings. “You _did_ find her.”

“I did.”

“Then you chose to defy me.”

“Kylo—” Ana started, taking a deep breath, “I came here to tell you that—it’s over. I can’t be with you anymore. The journey you’re about to take is one you’ll have to take alone.”

Kylo stood, stunned for a few moments, processing this—everything that had happened in the last few days was throwing unexpected obstacles to his power, making him feel as if he were losing control. Palpatine’s return, now Ana’s betrayal—the rage boiled up in Kylo.

“If you’re not with me,” his red lightsaber buzzed to life, “You’re against me.”

“That’s not true,” Ana said, “I want the best for you. Which is why I know I have to leave.”

Kylo raised his lightsaber, straight in front of him, its tip pointing directly at Ana. “I don’t want to have to do this.” He was keeping a stony expression, but Ana could tell it was taking a lot of holding back.

Ana stood, calmly. “And you’re not going to. I know you won’t hurt me, Kylo.”

“You do not want to make an enemy of me, Ana.” His irises were glistening black, sadness tinging his voice.

“I’ll never be your enemy,” Ana told him definitively, “I love you. And that’s why I’m letting you go.”

His lip quivered. “No, you aren’t.” He rushed at her with his saber brandished, swinging it overhead just before she ignited her own violet blade, blocking it just inches from her face, parrying him to the side, deftly angling her blade to avoid his next strike.

His blade searing against hers, the light flickering on both of their faces, he looked across at her—a tear rolled down his pale cheek and fell below to the ash.

“You won’t kill me,” Ana told him, locking eyes with him, “There’s good in you— _Ben_.”

Kylo cried out with sorrow and rage, swinging once again, furiously overhand, as she dodged the blow and met him again over her right shoulder.

“Leave me behind,” she said, their blades once again touching, “Go to Exegol. Your destiny is waiting for you there.”

“I’m not letting you abandon me!” Kylo snapped—his voice breaking—his voice softer than it had been in years. The voice Ben had spoken to her with on countless nights, hushed in the dark huts of the Jedi Temple. “Please. Don’t.”

Ana’s breath shook, her chest trembling. “It’s time for you to go.”

Kylo locked eyes with her one more time, and saw that she was determined. His breath quavered as he disengaged, retracting his lightsaber blade. He pursed his lips in a newfound resolve. “I’ll be back for you.”

Ana closed her eyes, allowing a tear to escape down her eyelashes, rolling down her face as she opened her eyes again to look at him. “No. You won’t.”

He watched her, breathless. Anger had given way to shock, sadness—and grief. She stepped to him, placing one hand on his cheek, thumbing softly at his jawline and pulled him into a kiss—long and lingering. The last one, she knew. He allowed it, breathing into it, eclipsing her hand on his face with his larger hand, enveloping it and then tenuously trying to keep a hold on her fingers as she slid her hand down and eventually retracted it to her side.

She tried to be strong, but the tears were flowing. But Kylo was calmed. He realized that for all the betrayal in the world, he couldn’t bring himself to kill you.

“I love you,” Ana said, “May the Force be with you.”

His eyes stayed trained on her for another moment, and then, his eyes reddening, he turned away, stamping through the layer of fallen ash, and out of sight.

Ana was despondent as she looked above to see the silhouette of the _Steadfast_ in the upper atmosphere disappear, the faint rumbling of its engines jumping to hyperspace echoing across the planet’s surface.

She had nowhere to go. As bad as they were, the First Order had been a home for her, and that was lost now. Den was lost to Exegol, captive to the Emperor’s forces. The Resistance was tucked away in an unknown corner of the galaxy, and besides, Ana wouldn’t be able to swallow her pride to truly enlist with them. The one she wanted to be with was lost to her forever—and everyone else was impossible to find.

But something in her urged her to walk, deeper into the Corvax Fen, through the husks of trees and the swirling ashes in the warm wind. Her eyes eventually drew up to something tall on the horizon, a looming black tower rising out of the burnt ground, two pronged as it reached for the gray sky. Something was calling her in, like a faint whispering—almost like the voices she had heard on Mortis.

She proceeded up the steps to the castle, lurching above her, the black obsidian walls stained by gray ash. The place had been abandoned for years, but a powerful energy lingered there. Ana felt the familiar chill of the Dark Side, but also—something else.

She wandered into the halls, tall and long, scarcely lit. Her footsteps echoed throughout as she proceeded into the central chamber—a black platform suspended high above the blackness the castle was built on. There was a trapezoidal window on one side, opening a panorama onto the lava plains beyond, rivers of bright red cutting through the rolling black hills.

The faint whispering continued, so Ana sat in the center of the platform, cross-legged. She let the energy around her flow through her, resting her hands on her thighs as she breathed deeply, and closed her eyes.

But her mind was muddied—her thoughts racing. And for the first time, she felt powerless. She knew what she’d had to do but hadn’t considered what would happen afterward. There was nowhere to go, and nothing she could do.

But when she opened her eyes, it was dark. The sun had set. Only a faint red light of the lava streams allowed her to see anything. She knitted her brow—where had she gone? She didn’t feel like much time had passed at all.

She looked out on the horizon. It was silent like death. She could only hear the sound of her own heartbeat. And now the tears flowed again. This was her life now. Time would pass her by and she would be alone.

“You can’t stay here forever, you know.”

She started at the sound of the voice—a voice she didn’t recognize. She turned around to see him—glowing blue and slightly transparent, his hair tousled and the ends barely brushing his shoulders, a scar cutting perpendicular across his right eyebrow.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I built this place,” he told her, “I should be asking _you._ ”

“This place is strong with the Dark Side,” Ana responded cautiously, “Are you Sith?”

His countenance grew solemn. “I was.”

“This is some sort of trick,” Ana said, “You’re not really here.”

“My body died long ago,” he told her, “But my spirit lives on through the Force.”

“Only a Master Jedi is able to do that,” Ana said, “Not Sith.”

“I was both, in my time.”

Ana came to a realization, her eyes widening. “You’re Vader.”

“I am Anakin Skywalker.”

“But—Kylo has been hearing your voice for years. Speaking to him as Vader.”

“An illusion from the Emperor,” Anakin told her, “He was never told the truth about me. I was redeemed before my death. I killed the Emperor to save my son.”

“Apparently you didn’t kill him good enough.”

“The version of Sidious that exists now is but a shell of his former self,” Anakin told her, “He won’t be able to reach his full power without fulfilling the ritual of the Sith.”

“And he’s going to use Kylo to do that.”

“He won’t be able to,” Anakin said, “Ben is redeemed.”

Ana looked at him with confusion. “But I just—he—”

“Search your feelings. He finally found himself. He has come back to the Light.”

Something in Ana, something linked to him, could feel it. A cleansing. The removal of a dark cloud. But there was a new fear. She knew it couldn’t last. “Where is he?”

“He’s going to Exegol one last time,” Anakin told her, “To face Darth Sidious. And to make a final sacrifice. Like I did.”

“Then Rey isn’t going to kill him,” Ana realized, “He’s going to sacrifice himself... for her.”

“But balance cannot exist without them both,” Anakin told her, “And you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know that Ben was tied to Mortis,” Anakin said, “You sensed that.”

“Ahsoka and Den thought he was the reincarnation of the Son—of the Dark Side.”

“They were wrong,” Anakin told her, “He was the _Light._ ”

Ana thought back—how Kylo had been drawn to the image of the Daughter on Lothal. How he had to embrace the Light within him to open the door on Ilum. And it made sense.

“Then... is the Emperor the Dark?”

“No,” Anakin said, “Darth Sidious can only dream of possessing the power of a Mortis being. The Son and The Daughter were always tied together—a dyad in the Force.”

Ana thought for a moment, and felt a tightening in her chest. “Rey.”

Anakin nodded.

“Then—then she’ll help Sidious complete the ritual. She’ll give in to the Dark Side.”

“No,” Anakin said, “Their nature is not to be at odds. She has proven herself to be strong enough to use her power for good, despite the Dark. The Jedi always thought that Light was the great purifier—but they didn’t realize that one couldn’t exist without the other.”

“And what about the Father—the Chosen One,” Ana said, “Who will keep them in balance?”

Anakin smirked. “The Chosen One is a tricky role. The power, the responsibility that comes with it has destroyed those who have possessed it—it destroyed the Father, and it destroyed me.”

“It was you then,” she said, “You were the Chosen One. That’s why Ben is so powerful.”

“And it’s why _you_ are so powerful.”

Ana looked at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

“I was not the last Chosen One. When one falls, another one rises. _You_ are now the Chosen One.”

Ana shook her head. “I can’t be—I’m—I’m nobody.”

“You have always been able to keep yourself from falling to one side or the other,” Anakin said, “You have the strength to finally wield this power and restore balance.”

“I—I can’t. I can’t know that. I—I don’t know how I would restore balance, I can’t find Exegol, and I can’t face the Emperor.”

“The fight with the Emperor is not your fight,” Anakin said, “But you can find your way to Exegol. And you can fight your _own_ battles, to save what you love.”

“Den.”

“Your brother holds secrets that the Sith can’t know,” Anakin said, “And you’re the only one who can save him.”

“He’s on a Sith Star Destroyer,” Ana said, “I can’t save him alone.”

“You don’t have to,” Anakin said.

“I—if I fail him again, I don’t know how I can live with myself.”

“You won’t fail,” he told her, and stepped close, placing a spectral hand on her shoulder, “You are the Chosen One.”

He faded from view, and Ana took a deep breath, steeling her resolve. She knew what she had to do.

The _Togruta_ whizzed up into the upper atmosphere, DK tapping along the dash, beeping inquisitively.

“Set a course for Kashyyyk,” she told him, “Think you can vouch for me to your Wookiee friend?”

“Bee-wee!”

“Good,” she said, “We’re going after Den.”

The city of Kachiro spread out, lit by lamplight, sprawling around the trunks of several giant wroshyr trees lining a coastline. She settled the _Togruta_ on a landing platform attached to a large suspended hut.

When she entered, there was a crowd of Wookiees crowded around a holo-projector, watching some sort of transmission. The chieftain turned when he heard DK’s beeping, and looked to Ana.

“Raaaaaugghhh!”

“You must be Chieftain Hami,” Ana said, “My name is Ana Daario. I believe you know by brother.”

“Aooorrgh.”

“He’s been taken by the Emperor’s forces. He’s on a Star Destroyer on Exegol. I need help infiltrating the ship. I know he helped you before. I need your help to save him,” she noted Hami’s silence, “I don’t know how we’ll find Exegol but—”

“Gaawwoorrgh!” he hushed her, ushering her through the crowd of Wookiees to the holo-projector. There, the face of General Lando Calrissian was projected, broadcasting to the galaxy.

“The time to fight is now, my friends,” he said, “Any able pilots with a working ship are needed on Exegol now—you can find it by my navigation beacon. This is for the whole galaxy—will you give in to tyranny, or will you fight for our freedom?”

Ana looked at Hami. “Are you with me?”

“Raaaaaarrrgggh!”

Ana smiled. She knew enough Shyriiwook to know that was a resounding yes.

“Let’s go save my brother.”


End file.
